Golf cart signage network catches the attention of wealthy men

AdAge is carrying an interesting article about ProLink Solutions, a company that uses simple digital signs on golf courses to advertise to those with... ah... sufficient expendible income. It's an interesting niche, and certainly a novel way to reach those individuals that both have a large amount of purchasing power and are notoriously difficult to market to. Their solution also takes into account the unique nature of the golf course, and how people normally act there:

Each ad [on the digital screen] -- in three consecutive formats --stays onscreen for 15 to 20 minutes, or about the length of time it takes to play one hole. ProLink sells ads on a per-hole basis. The average 150,000 annual ad impressions (30,000 rounds of golf with golfers in and out of the car about five times) can be purchased for $5,000 -- that's one hole on one course for the entire year. ProLink has national ad salespeople in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as local sales people in offices in Baltimore; Dallas; Denver; Phoenix; Houston; and Orlando, Fla.

The ads don't use sound or motion either, as these are the kinds of things that might distract golfers mid-swing. Of course, the company notes that there are opportunities to add these things in at a later date (no doubt for a higher price :)

The company's founder also noted that ad sales (sponsors include HBO and Cadillac) really took off once the company had a critical mass of viewers. While initial attempts to sell spots with only one golf course signed up were difficult (the audience size was estimated at 100,000 viewers/year), the going has gotten a lot easier now that the firm operates at over 20 courses around the world, with a combined audience size of about 3,000,000